Ok, I think I know what’s going through your head right now. Whoever saw this piece and decided that clicking on an article with the name of an old British dude as the title was somehow worth it is probably thinking, why is this dude relevant? Who is this mystery man that I’ve never heard of? Why did I click on this article?? Is this how bored quarantine has made me???
Well, it turns out that most of you have probably heard of him. Sir Robert Bryson Hall II, better known by his stage name, “Logic”, is a Maryland-born rapper who recently announced his retirement. Logic has been in the spotlight since around 2017, when his single for suicide prevention awareness, “1-800-273-8255” (the suicide prevention hotline), blew up and made him a public sensation. Since then, he has spoken out on many issues, especially those in the rap industry. He is well-known for being transparent and authentic in his music, and for sharing lessons he has learned and wishes others to learn from his past and present.
Yeah, that’s right! Logic is retiring. He’s come a really long way from his friend Big Lenbo’s basement, and through his journey, he’s been through many different experiences. From his first mixtape, Psychological - The Mixtape, to his so-called Young Sinatra tapes and his The Incredible True Story saga, Logic has told sage-length stories through his music. He’s opened up amazing conversations about everything from mental health to racism to even toxicity in the rap industry and society today. He’s had signing offers from artists as big as Nas, rapped with Andre3000 and artists from Wu-Tang, had multiple hit singles, and toured the world. He is truly “arguably one of the greatest rappers in the modern era”.
Logic announced his retirement, and the pregnancy of his wife, along with the release of his “final” album, No Pressure. The album, in my opinion, effectively tied together his style throughout the years, as well as the focuses of each of his albums and songs. He rapped all of his moods and, in my opinion, tied together every piece of music he’s produced (publicly released, that is) in this album. He brought together aspects from the Young Sinatra tapes of course, and definitely made many allusions to Under Pressure, the album’s predecessor, as well as The Incredible True Story saga.
However, as we celebrate this amazing rapper, there is something to be aware of: the possibility that he isn’t actually fully retiring!
Throughout songs in No Pressure, from the intro itself, he makes references to the album he hinted at earlier in his career, Ultra 85. This is the album that would bring the saga full-circle, which he first teased during his Everybody tour. For those of you who don’t know, Logic has a few sequential albums that he has created. One of these sequences is referred to as The Incredible True Story saga (abbreviated as TITS), which follows two men on a mission through space. It’s set in the future on Babel Space Station in the year 2065, where the Earth has become inhospitable. The saga follows the two men who try to find another planet, which they name “Paradise”, in hopes that it can continue to sustain the 5 million humans who are residing on Babel Space Station. In his Everybody tour, Logic teased the release of Ultra 85 through a limited edition tour booklet. When every 8th and 5th letter in the booklet was read, a message stating, “For the real fans reading this hidden message my next album will be called Ultra 85, and it will be the conclusion to his saga”, is revealed. However, years passed and fans continued to wait for Ultra. Logic announced that he was joking about an earlier claim he made when following up on the decoding of his message (he said that Ultra 85 would be the last album he’d ever produce). However, even though we never got Ultra, No Pressure seems to have all of the marks of the teased finale without the name itself. In addition to this, at the end of “Heard Em Say”, the third to last song in No Pressure, Thalia (the AI program in the spaceship the two men use to find Paradise) glitches and says, “This concludes the No Pressure prog-- No Press-- Ul-- Ultra 85-- Welcome to the Ultra 85 program”. What could this possibly mean? We’ll truly never know. There will be countless fan theories and equally as much insanity, but I think it’ll all be over nothing. I think Logic is simply taking a break to raise his son, but will continue to release music, just like Jay Z did. Because as we never got even a word from William or Thomas (the two men from TITS), and no clear conclusion was reached as to what happens to them on the planet Paradise, the story has yet to end. Logic hasn’t truly ended TITS with No Pressure, and I don’t think he can leave his fans like that.
Go listen to No Pressure, as well as the full TITS saga and all his other albums! Logic is a talented artist no less, and clearly an expert in sustaining his fanbase through his storytelling. Happy listening!